Page 4 of Demon Monster's Little Human

A memory surges—a different throat beneath my hand, a different woman, dark eyes burning with power, whispering something that shattered me.

Her lips part, but the sound that leaves them isn’t a scream. It isn’t a beg.

It’s my name.

“Dain.”

My body seizes. My grip slackens just enough for her to move—a mistake.

She ducks under my arm, shoving herself free, and bolts toward the ruins of the temple doors.

I snarl, rage blistering through my veins, and chase her down.

She is fast. I am faster.

She darts between fallen pillars, bare feet skidding over the uneven ground, desperation carved into every breath. I gain on her, wings snapping open, ignoring the sharp crack of pain in my back. The temple groans, the walls splitting further from the lingering magic that still churns through the air.

She did this.

She woke me.

She should be dead.

A single burst of speed closes the distance. My claws catch her wrist, yanking her back—too hard, too fast. She slams against me, soft curves colliding with stone-forged muscle, a gasp punching from her lungs as I spin her, pressing her down against the nearest pillar.

I bare my teeth, my wings curling around us, trapping her in a cage of heat and fury.

She stares up at me, breath heaving, lips parted.

Something sharp lances through my gut.

It is not pity.

Not mercy.

Not anything I can stomach.

I should rip her throat out. Tear her apart. Make her bleed for the time stolen from me, for the chains, the cold, the curse that still lingers in my bones like poison.

But something in her stares back at me, something familiar.

The realization fills me with rage, deeper than before. I want to hate her. I need to.

But my grip won’t tighten.

I force myself closer, crowding her against the pillar, letting her feel what hunts her.

She trembles. But she does not look away.

“I should kill you,” I breathe, voice scraping against the raw edges of my throat.

Her lips part, and gods curse me, my eyes flick to them.

The moment stretches. Too long. Too wrong.

She lifts her chin. No words, just a silent challenge, a fragile thing daring to stand against a monster.

For some reason, I do not end her.

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